This invention relates generally to an industrial inspection apparatus and more particularly to integrated storage for an industrial inspection handset.
Industrial inspection apparatuses, such as endoscopes or borescopes, can include a handset tethered to a base unit by a cable or other connecting means. In this configuration, while it is the handset that actually conducts the inspection activities, it is the base unit that contains a significant amount of the hardware and processing capacity required by the industrial inspection apparatus. For example, the base unit could include various interfaces for plugging in or connecting peripheral devices such as portable memory devices (e.g., USB memory (or “thumb”) drive, memory cards), audio devices (e.g., headsets), wireless devices, or displays (e.g., computer monitors (VGA)) for storage and/or display of the data acquired during an inspection. An advantage of having these interfaces or peripheral connector bays within the base unit is the ability to protect these interfaces and connected devices from the harsh environments and conditions typically encountered during an inspection, including adverse weather conditions. A disadvantage of having the base unit to supporting the operations of the handset is the limitation on the flexibility and portability of the person conducting the inspection with the handset, which must always remain tethered to the base unit, which, in turn, is often required to be connected to a source of electrical power.
A potential solution to the disadvantages of requiring a base unit is to relocate some or all of the hardware and processing capacity required by the industrial inspection apparatus from the base unit to the handset, thereby eliminating the need for a tethered connection between the two devices. For example, rather than having the peripheral devices connected to the base unit, these devices can be connected to peripheral connector bays on the handset during and/or after the inspection. Since the handset is directly exposed to the harsh environments and conditions typically encountered during an inspection, these peripheral devices and the peripheral connector bays need to be protected. In addition, these peripheral devices and the peripheral connector bays also need to be protected from damage by an user inadvertently dropping the handset. It would be advantageous to provide one or more storage compartments integrated within the handset that would provide the protection required by these peripheral devices and peripheral connector bays during and/or after an inspection without significantly increasing the package size of the handset.